Roker Roundup: BBC give update on when they believe Sunderland’s takeover should be completed

Takeover still on track

While we have all been been waiting for the takeover of Sunderland to be completed, it appears as if we will have to wait a little longer before the partners from MSD take control.

According to BBC Radio Newcastle’s Nick Barnes, while everything is on track, we may have to wait until the end of next week before John Phelan, Glenn Fuhrman, Glen Platek and Michael Dell are officially confirmed as the club’s new owners.

Roker Rapport had former Sunderland forward Kieron Brady on the latest addition of the podcast to discuss the impending takeover and you can listen to that down below.

Bowyer surprised to sign Matthews

Adam Matthews finally found himself a new club last week after being released by Sunderland at the end last season.

The right-back signed a 12-month deal with Charlton Athletic after impressing Lee Bowyer during a trial spell at The Valley, with the Addicks boss expressing surprise that Matthews was not only a free agent but still available come September:

I can’t believe it, he is only 27 and has still got so much more to offer.

I’m sure working with Jacko [Johnnie Jackson] that he is going to get better, for sure. I couldn’t believe our luck he was on a free.

He is another good signing. He is a Welsh international and is going to bring us something different. He is definitely going to give us more going forward – his end product is very, very good.

He has experience at club level and internationally. For me it is a no brainer. He came in and impressed us straight away.

We have got to get him fit but there are still 40-odd games to go. Adam is definitely going to be important, sooner rather than later.

He is playing in the U23s to get some minutes into him. He played in a behind-closed-doors game the other week and impressed in that as well.

Matthews’ compatriot and former Sunderland team-mate Jonny Williams also made the permanent move to Charlton this summer and revealed that the team have the best togetherness he has experienced in football:

I feel at home there, they welcomed me from another south London team and I wasn’t sure how that would go down at the start.

But I’ve loved my time there and we’re flying.

The staff who’ve put the team together with all the problems behind the scenes have done a fantastic job.

It’s probably the best togetherness of a team I’ve been involved in at club level.

The manager has helped to take me to the next level and work on my weaknesses. He was a big reason why I decided to stay this season.

Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Egan captains Ireland

Sunderland academy product John Egan captained his country for the first time last night, leading Ireland to a 3-1 friendly win over Bulgaria.

The central defender was released by the club back in 2014 but bounced back with Gillingham and Brentford before returning to the Premier League with Sheffield United in the summer.

Before the game, Egan said that, despite being released by Sunderland, he always believed he was going to end up playing Premier League football:

When you do go through setbacks, it does make you stronger.

Even when I broke my leg and even when I was released by Sunderland, I still believed that I was going to play in the Premier League.

Maybe if I’d said it to someone at the time they would have laughed at me. But I just had that mentality that, at the very minimum, I was going to keep trying to make myself a better player.

Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images